Index-guide.



S. ANTHONY.

INDEX GUIDE.

APPLICATION FILED oc. 22, I9I3. IIENEwED APR. 26, I9 Ia.

1,285,579, Patented Nov. 26, 1918.`

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STANLEY ANTHONY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 RAPID EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTAn INDEX-GUIDE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nev. 26, reis.

Application led October 22, 1913, Serial No. 796,725. Renewed April 26, 1918. Serial No. 231,001.

T o all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, STANLEY ANTHONY, a citizen of the United States. and residing at Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Index-Guides, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like arts. p This invention relates to index guides for card index systems and it has for its object to Provide a novel indicating tab for these index guides which is arranged to present the name or other data carried thereby in convenient position to be read and which is strengthened so that it will not become bent or broken in use.

In carrying out these objects I provide a tab which comprises a holder preferably made of sheet metal that is associated with the card and projects from the edge thereof` said holder having means for receiving and4 holding the indicating member, and if desired I may provide the tab with a protective cover which covers over and protects the' indicating member.

In order to give a better understanding of my invention I have illustrated in the drawings some selected embodiments thereof which will now be described in detail, it being understood, of course, that my invention is not confined to the forms illustrated herein.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a preferred embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view' on the line Figs. .3 and 4 are views similar to Fig. 2 showing modifications of the invention;

Fig. 5 shows still another modification of the invention..

I have shown at 1 an index guide card such as is ordinarily used in Icard index systems. These index guides are usually provided with tabs, which may be either integral therewith or separate elements attached thereto, on which appears some name or data descriptive of the material contained on the index cards that are associated with the index guide. If these tabs are integral with the index guide and are in the nature of extensions thereof they are very apt t0 become broken or torn ofi" from the index guide after comparatively short use, thus rendering the index guide incapable of further use. It is a desideratum to provide an index guide with a practically indestructible tab and in my attempts to secure a tab of this nature I have devised the tab forming the subject of this invention and which comprises anv indicating portion extending upwardly and backwardly` from the card, and a holding or stiffening portion having provision for holding the indicating portion in its desired position, the holding and indicating portions having `a combined dimension transversely of the card which is not appreciably greater than the thickness of the card and beinggsituated entirely back of the plane of the card. The holding member may be constructed in various Ways without departing from the invention.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown a construction which has many advantages. The holding member is designated generally by 2 and it comprises a body portion 3 which overlies the back of the card 1 and a holding portion 4 which extends beyond the edge of thecard, said holding portion 4 preferably havingan inclined position relative to the plane of the card. The upper edge of the holding member is turned over to form a holding lip 5.

This type of holding member is designed to receive an indicating member in the form of a strip 6 on whichthe desired data is placed, said strip 6 Ahaving a length substantially equal to that of the holding member and having a width substantially equal to the distance between the top of the card 1 and the holding lip 5'. Associated with the holding member is a protective cover 7 which is preferably made of transparent, resilient material, such for instance as celluloid. This cover overlies and covers the holding portion 4 of .the holding member and the upper edge of the cover is received under the lip '5, as best seen in Fig. 2. The

'indicating strip 6 is inserted between the placed to engage the indicating member and move it longitudinally sufliciently so that a person can grasp it between his thumb and finger.

The holding member may be secured to the index guide 1 in 'various ways. One convenient construction is to provide this holding member at its lower edge with a plurality of fingers 11 which are inserted through the card 1 and are then bent upwardly against the front. face of the card, these fingers serving to grasp the card hetween them and the body 3 of the holding member'. These holding fingers 11 are of sufficient length to extend up to the top of the card 1.l The advantage of this construction is that there will be a firm connection between the holding member and the card clear from the top edge of the card and as a consequence there will be no tendency for the body of the holding member to separate from the card at the top edge as might be the case if the fingers did not extend clear to the top of the card. I also propose to make use of this same fastening means for securing the protective cover in place. As shown in Fig.

. 2 the protective cover is provided with an extension 12 which extends down between the body 3 of the holding member and the back side of the card, said extension preferably extending below the fingers 11 and being provided with apertures through which said fingers pass. These clamping fingers 11 therefore operate both to secure the holding member to the card and to fasten the protective cover in place.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the material forming the protective cover is provided with a 'bend 13 which is situated slightly above the top edge of the card and above the line 14 forming the junction of the holding portion -1 and body portion 3 of the holding member. As stated above the protective cover is formed of resilient material and in making it the portion 7 thereof will be formed at a slightly less angle to the portion 12 than the angle between the portions 3 and 4 of the holder, and as a result the upper edge 15 of the protective cover will bear against the holding portion of the holding member with more or less pressure. The resiliency of the protective cover permits it to give suficiently to allow the indicating member to be inserted into position and after the indicating member is thus positioned the pressure of the edge 15 of the protective cover thereagainst will frictionally hold the indicating member in place. Since the indicating member and the holding ortion 4 of the holding member have slig tly different angles there will be a suflicient space between these parts at the lower edge thereof adjacent the top of the card to permit the corner of the indicating member to be readily inserted between them.

6 into place from the top edge of the holding men'iber, as well as from the side edges thereof. In other respects, however, the invention shown in Fig. 3 is similar to that shown in Fig. 1.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig. -L wherein the indicating member is made integral with the index member 1 and no protective cover is employed. In this embodiment of the invention the holding member is constructed exactly as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and is provided at its upper edge with the holding lip 5. The indicating member 6a is, however, an integral part of the index guide 1. It overlies the holding portion 4: of the holding member and the upper edge thereof is received under the holding lip 5. This holding member thus reinforces and stiffens the indicating member 6 and holds it at the desired angular position. The holding member is secured in place by the clamping fingers 11 extending through the card index guide and clamped against the front face thereof, all as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In the embodiments of the invention thus far described the holding member is separate from the card 1 but attached thereto. In Fig. 5 I have shown an embodiment of the invention wherein the holding member is formed as part of the card. In this case the card 1 itself may be of metal and when it is cut out or shaped, it will be formed with an extension 4b constituting the holding member. In this embodiment the card has associated therewith fingers 11b which may be struck up from the metal of the card and which are used for securing the protective cover 7b in place. These fingers 11b extend through the protective cover, which in Fig. 5 is shown as overlying the front face of the card, and said fingers are bent up against. the front face of the card thereby to securely clamp the protective cover in place. The indicating strip 6 having the desired data thereon is inserted underneath the protective cover, as seen in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

It will be noted that in my invention the indicating tab portion of the card is situated entirely to the rear of the plane of the card body, and it will also be noted that the entire transverse dimension of the tab portion of the card is not appreciably greater than the thickness of the card. This has a decided advantage because the tab portion of the card takes up appreciably no more room than the card itself, and it is possible to arrange'the cards closely together without any likelihood of interference from the tab portions.

mesmev While I have illustrated some embodiments of m invention, I do not Wish to be limited to t e constructional features shown.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The combination with an index guide card, of an indicating tab therefor comprising an open faced metal holder having provision for removably holding an indicating member and having means for attachment to said card, and a transparent cover for said indicating member which is held in place by the meansthat attaches the holder to the card.

2. The combination with an index guide card, of an indicating tab therefor presenting a metal holder attached to the card and extending beyond the edge thereof and occupying a position at an angleto the plane of the card, said holder being provided at its outer edge with a lip and an indicating member overlying and supported by the holder and having its edge received under' said lip and a protective cover of transparent material covering the indicating member and having one edge confined beneath said lip, said cover being held in place by the means which attaches the holder to the card. l

3. The combination with an index guide card, of an index tab thereforcomprising a metal holding member provided with a body portion overlying the back of the card at its -upper edge and having clamping lingers extending therefrom which pass through the card and are clamped against the front face thereof and also having a holding portion extending above the edge of the card but at an inclination thereto, an indicating strip sustained by said holding portion and a protective cover of transparent material having a .portion overlying said indicating member and a portion extending between the body of the holding member and the back face of the card and below the fingers.' l

4. The combination with an index guide card, of an index tab therefor comprising a metal holding member provided with a body portion overlying the back of the card at its upper edge and having clamping fingers extending therefrom which pass through the card and are clamped against the front face thereof and also having a holding portion extending above the edge of the card but at an inclination thereto, an indicating strip sustained by said holding portion and a protective cover of transparent material having 'a portion overlying said indicating member and a portion extending between the body of the holding member and the back face of the card and below the fingers, the protecting portion of said protective cover having a different angle of inclination from the holding portion of the holder whereby the upper edge of the protective cover is held against the indicating member by the resiliency of the protective cover.

5. The combination with an index guide, of an indicating tab therefor comprising an open-faced metal holder having provision for removably holding an indicating member and having means for attachment to said card and a cover for the indicating member which is held in place by the means that attaches the holder to the card and through which the indicating member can be seen.

6. The combination with an index card, of an indicating tab therefor comprising an open-faced metal holder having provision for removably holding an indicatingmember and having means for attachment to said card and a cover through which the indicating member can be seen and which is held in place by the means that attaches the holder to the card, said holder having an opening in its rear face through which the back of the indicating member is exposed and through which a sharp instrument may be inserted to move the indicating member longitudinally of the holder.

7. An index guide card comprising a card member having associated therewith a metal holder which projects upwardly and rearwardly ,from the top edge of the card, and clamping fingers projecting forwardly from the face of the card, and a protective cover overlying the front face of the holder, said clamping fingers extending through the protective cover and being bent back on themselves to clamp and securely attach said `cover to the card body,

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

STANLEY ANTHONY.

Witnesses l LOUIS C. SMITH, THOMAS J. DRUMMOND. 

